Bhaelin Bronzebraid
"Lo am ahz Modan ruk Goten rand syddan; We of the Mountain and Hills will endure." '- Bhaelin Bronzebraid '''during the '''Siege of Ironforge.' Bhaelin Bronzebraid is the current Thane of Clan Bronzebraid, and is in control of Dun Badihr, a fiefdom located in between the Mountains of Northern Loch Modan and Northern Dun Morogh. He is a Representative of Clan Bronzebraid on the Senate of Ironforge, and the First Berserker of Clan Ironblood. =Description= ---- Appearance This is a Dwarf of stereotypical proportions, he seemed to fit what one thought of when a Dwarf came to mind: A short, heavily built and muscled creature with flowing, crimson hair and a magnificent, beard that was ceremoniously braided and decorated with copper, silver, and gold. This short and stocky man was battle-worn and tested by time, as given evidence through the various scars that littered his body, wrinkles that adorned his face, and large, wrinkled nose befitting of one that drank often and without concern for himself; many would have said that, if his mouth was visible beneath his beard and accompanying mustache, he would have a permanent worried expression imprinted upon his facial features. However, the lower-portion of his face was well hidden, behind the mustache, that separated off into two ornamented braids, and the long, flowing, braided, crimson beard that was finished off at the bottom by a silver and gold band, as well as a bell that tied all of the rest of the loose hair together and seemed to operate much like a pendulum when he waddled - or walked - from place to place. Arms/Armor Where armaments were concerned, he opted to honor his ancestral roll, usually using a Runed Hammer and a Runed Hand-Axe made of steel from the Mountain's of his homeland. This was accompanied by a suit of full-plate armor that he was normally found in, regardless of situation. It was not an uncommon set of plate for Dwarves to adorn themselves in, and had the distinctly recognizable artistic feature of two ram-heads smelted into the shoulder-guards. In addition to his armor, he wore a long cloak made of grey bearskin which often trailed behind him on the ground he walked upon, which was attached to the bear-head that was often attached to his plated helmet, displaying his countenance beneath the maw of a lifeless bear. These both served as a sort of badge for his status of Berserker for Clan Ironblood. Occasionally he could be seen carrying a two-handed axe upon his back that appeared to be one of the infamous howling blades of the Warsong Clan of Orc's. Rumor holds that he carries this axe in memory of his mother and father, and it is allegedly the blade that cut them down during the Horde invasion of Khaz Modan during the Second War. =History= ---- Youth Born in Ironforge and later relocated to Loch Modan, Bhaelin was born into a Clan that was originally well off in Dwarven Society. He and his twin brother, Olan, were encouraged to learn as they wish, to explore avenues that interested them without much oversight, and often caused mayhem as a result. Bhaelin found interest in Smithing, a trade that he believed most honorable and in no short supply of teachers. He quickly picked up the hammer and found himself in the forge, working with any who would take him, and rapidly advancing within the craft. It would not be long before he determined he had learned what he wished for the moment and would gradually master it and moved on to Stone-Shaping and learning the art of construction within the hills and mountains of Khaz Modan. It was in this time period that he met a woman that would be the greatest of friends, and eventually his fiance as a fellow stone-shaper. However, eventually his interests turned towards that of combat and the pre-battle planning that came from them. He learned strategy from his grandmother, whom had lived to see the War of Three Hammers and had been instrumental in more than a couple of the battles alongside his grandfather, but he received no conventional combat training. Try as his father might, Bhaelin was resistant to the idea that there was one correct way to fight, and struggled with not completely releasing his emotions in the heat of the battle. It was a battle of will to attempt to teach his son, one that he eventually lost. He instead opted to offer him combat and allow him to adapt to situations as they came to be, whether it be with different weaponry and armor or style of fighting. Despite being unable to teach him the more refined tricks of combat, he instilled within his son a sort of Code in terms of combat, that there is no more honorable way to die than in battle, and if you are to die you should find the quickest way to dispose of as many foes as possible, but to seek death within it at the expense of other Dwarvish lives is unhonorable, no matter the amount of foes you slay: Your Honor is tainted. Bhaelin's style of fighting is rather primal, relentless, and reckless. Many of his Bronzebeard-Wildhammer cousins have attributed his fighting on the ground to that of a Wildhammer in the air. For this, he has been dubbed a Berserker by his family, and by many of the Loch's inhabitants who know him to be an excellent warrior. It was not long before he was hunting Trolls throughout Khaz Modan with his kinsmen, cutting them down where he saw them, and it seemed even shorter still till the Second War came and the Orc's were crashing into Khaz Modan. Bhaelin's family and Clan were present and attempted to hold many of the Orc's at bay, but were eventually overrun, like many other of the Clans and pushed back to Ironforge. It was during this time that Bhaelin lost his brother, Hurdran, his fiance Divura, his mother, and his father. The Clan was fragmented, and those that remained with Bhaelin moved to the sanctuary of Ironforge until aide from the Human Kingdoms lifted the Orcish Siege. "Lo am ahz Modan ruk Goten rand syddan; We of the Mountain and Hills will endure." '- Bhaelin Bronzebraid.' Recently Since the Second War, Bhaelin had tried his luck at adventuring, opting to leave what remained of his destroyed Clan to their own devices. Eventually, he grew bored and didn't see much of a point left in adventuring around the Eastern Kingdoms, and held no interest in Kalimdor. He came back to Khaz Modan, took up his mantle as Thane, and joined the ranks of Karanar Ironblood, swearing fealty to her and to uphold his banner as her own. He reclaimed the land that his family had owned, called his Clan back home, and is now currently rebuilding the settlement of Dun Badihr, which had previously been upon it. He joined the Senate of Ironforge as a Representative of his people and land and has worked with their Minister's, Senator's, and other Thanes in order to pass Laws that would be beneficial to his people and the whole of Khaz Modan. During the Invasion of the Witherbark Tribe of Trolls, he operated as the leader of a Secondary Unit under the command of Karanar, and defended Thelsamar from the intruders. Later in the defense of his homeland, he and his own clansmen took the Dun Algaz pass back from the Trolls and protected it from the encroaching Trolls. However, the Trolls found a way around the Mountain pass using Magic, and so Bhaelin and his unit moved to reunite with Karanar and the Dwarven Vanguard at the Valley of Kings where his men assisted in holding the line and eventually crushed the final push from the Witherbark Tribe. Title(s) and Awards Bhaelin is the Thane of Clan Bronzebraid after the death of his father, Baard at the hands of the Warsong Orcs during the Second War. He originally dismissed his duties and allowed his Clan to scatter across Khaz Modan, but recently has come back and reunited them beneath his banner and Clan Ironblood. Bhaelin was granted the title of First Berserker of Clan Ironblood on August 21st of the 34th year L.C. after completing his training regimen to pass down to the rest of Clan Ironblood's members who were assigned the Hall of Aggramar. For holding the Pass and due to close proximity of land to Dun Algaz, Bhaelin was given command of the Garrison and is to serve the Council of Three Hammer and Senate of Ironforge in defending it from any further invasions into Khaz Modan. This was granted to him by the Senate's Minister of War Karanar Ironblood. =Personality= ---- Beliefs Bhaelin used to subscribe to the Church of the Holy Light's ideology when he was younger, and continued to do so for the majority of his life. However, as more evidence was uncovered that suggested that the Pantheon of Titans was actually responsible for the creation of Azeroth and it's inhabitants, Bhaelin, like many Dwarves has began to look at them and drift away from the Church. He does not blindly worship them, but rather seeks to discover more about the Shaper's of Azeroth. Bhaelin has also begun looking more into the Wildhammer's belief of Ancestral worship, and finds the idea rather attractive and spiritually enlightening, and is constantly seeking to find out more about their beliefs and how he can become more involved within them. Quirks When it comes to Bhaelin's quirks, there isn't much that is not expected. He has a deep-rooted hatred for all of Orcish kind, firmly believing that "Th'only good Orc is one without 'is legs an' well bloodied!". This hatred is also shared towards Troll's due to the various conflicts that have taken place throughout Khaz Modan concerning them. Despite this, Bhaelin has a firm belief in Honor, and holds the sort of "warrior's code" that his father taught him in high regard, which seems to almost contradict his style of fighting. Bhaelin has an interest in creating and growing businesses and companies wherever he is able, looking for ways to make coin so that he may better serve his Clans-people. As such, he created a Caravansary, specifically for running goods from Menethil Harbor across all of Khaz Modan in a secure manner, and named it Bronzebraid Caravansary on September 8th of the 34th year L.C. Category:Characters Category:Dwarf Category:Bronzebeard Dwarf Category:Bronzebraid Clan Category:Ironblood Clan Category:Warriors Category:Blacksmiths